Also riding high was Honda's Fireblade which was the third biggest-selling bike over 125cc. It beat its nearest sportsbike rival the BMW S1000RR by 213 sales. Those two were the only full-on sportsbikes over 125cc that made the top 20.

The remaining top 20 sellers are an intriguing mix of the commendably unhinged (Kawasaki's 196bhp ZZR1400, for example, was only 53 sales behind BMW's S1000RR), the admirably sensible (Honda's uber-practical NC700X and CBR600F were both mid-table) and a mixture of the two (Triumph's brilliant Street Triple and Triple R would have topped the chart if their sales were combined…).